How to renew Merbau decking area?

Hello all,

I'm going to redo my outdoor decking area. I believe the wood is Merbau. I was originally thinking about just staining it in a similar colour, however i have now seen some grey colours and thinking i may do this instead. With going grey is this possible if the wood is already a brown colour?

My Plan:
1. Preasure house deck.
2. Apply a chemical to remove stubborn dirt and stains.
3. Sand deck and rails back.
4. Clean deck with sugar soap or similar.

5. Allow to dry.
6. Paint with an oil or stain.

Any other suggestions please let me know.

Thanks

Community manager's note: Check out How to renovate a timber deck for expert advice.

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Comments

Can you please let our members know what this grey-coloured product is? It sounds more like a paint-based product than a stain or oil; if so, you might be able to avoid a couple of steps. Regardless, your steps are just about right for restoring a deck, but if you are sanding the deck back, I don't see any need to remove dirt and stains beforehand, as the sanding will do that for you. So, in your case, it would be just sand the deck and rails back and then paint with an oil or stain.

Here are a couple of handy step-by-step guides: How to sand a deck and How to stain a deck.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Morning Mitchell,

i think i saw on one of the Bunbings forums that Grey is the latest fashion for decks. The produxt i found was from feast watson.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/feast-watson-4l-weathered-grey-traditional-timber-oil_p0148650

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/28430#Comment_28430

Thanks for providing those product details. Grey-stained decks are certainly on trend. The remnants of your previous oil will prevent it from penetrating adequately, so you will need to sand your deck before applying that product, as it needs a porous surface like bare timber. However, it is only semi-transparent, so after sanding, if there are a few stains or marks, the product will do a good job of disguising them.

Just so you know, we have sanders available for hire that will make the job so much quicker.

I can't wait to see your results.

Mitchell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/76770#Comment_76770

Hi Mitchell,

i was starting to use a belt sander for the job but too hard going.

im going to hire a floor sander off you guys, how does it work with the sanding. Does the machine use sandpaper or is there something built into the machine??

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/102358#Comment_102358

ignore the above- i checked out the videos 🙂

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/76770#Comment_76770

MOrning Mitchell,

Do you recommend a stain or oil?

Im not really knowing what to get...

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/102365#Comment_102365

Just following your path 🙂 I have a grey deck I want to stain it back to a Merabu colour 🙂

Dave

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/102365#Comment_102365

What's the context here? Have you decided not to go for the Feast Watson 4L Weathered Grey Traditional Timber Oil?

A stain is a pigment in a carrier, and an oil is a protecting coating. Oils will most often carry a pigment to recolour aged timber. In the case of that Feast Watson product, the oil carries a very opaque grey pigment. Stains offer protection as well, but they predominantly re-colour timber. So, typically I'd recommend an oil on a deck for its protective and nourishing qualities. If the timber is aged and you'd like to restore it, select a tinted oil with a pigment similar to your decking. In @Dave-1 's case, they'd use the Merbau decking oil if his Merbau is now aged and grey and has lost its colour.

That's a bit of a generalised overview, but please let me know more, and I can provide further assistance.

Mitchell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/118208#Comment_118208

Afternoon @MitchellMc

Thanky ou for the info, Will have a look at it when I go to Bunnings next.... 😀 Oh thats right I need some paint stripper so maybe today hahaha

Dave

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/118208#Comment_118208

HI @MitchellMc,

Wife wasn't too fond of the grey colour so now either going a stain or oil-based product and keeping the colour light natural.

Yep, im more inclined to go with the oil.

Thanks

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/127480#Comment_127480

Looking forward to seeing the results @bowmatty. Please share some photos when you are done.

Here's my own project from a while back - Deck renewal using floor sander.

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/133584#Comment_133584

Hi Jason,

thanks I’ll definitely post some pictures once completed.

Ive checked your project out and it looks great! Im curious to know why you recommend the hired orbital sander and not the hired drum sander from Bunnings? The reviews say the orbital is terrible to use and the drum sander is the best to use.

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/137353#Comment_137353

I can answer that for you. Our drum sanders are not designed to be used on decks. Due to their design, any protruding nails can damage the machine. So, unfortunately, we are unable to recommend them for deck use.

Mitchell

Morning all,

so i have hired the sander and gone over the deck with the 80grit sand paper (its come up amazing.

My local Bunnings didnt have the 80 grit paper for finishing, i ended up getting the 100 grit. Would this still be suffice? Or needs to be 80 to finish?

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/29042#Comment_29042

Don't do us like that, @bowmatty; where are the progress shots? Take us along for the ride! 🤣

80-grit is fine for stripping back the surface, but that's too coarse, in my opinion, for finishing. I'd be looking at 100-grit or more for the final pass, 180-grit even.

Mitchell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/77055#Comment_77055

heres a little teaser for you @MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/102497#Comment_102497

Amazing @bowmatty, that's made my morning! I notice a little discolouration of the decking in the bottom middle of that picture. I suspect this was an area where those drips were landing. Are there more of these discoloured areas? Will you be using a deck cleaning product before applying your oil? Consider using Feast Watson 4L Woodclean and giving the deck a good scrub down with a stiff bristle brush. You might not even notice them once the deck is oiled, but by using the Woodclean, it will help minimise the discolouration's appearance. If you do use the cleaner, stick with the Feast Watson Woodclean as it contains hydrochloric acid, which the other deck cleaners don't. In my experience, the additional chemical makes it perform far better than the other cleaners.

Please remember your PPE when using deck cleaners or applying oils, including a face mask, safety glasses, gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, pants and enclosed footwear.

Mitchell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/102497#Comment_102497

Good morning @bowmatty

Wow! Now you have made me reconsider sanding my own lol Bugger! That looks so nice and definently why I choose hardwood over pine. Worth the effort. How hard was it to actually sand?

Dave

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/118259#Comment_118259

HI Mitch,

That was water from cleaning it, it was still wet in parts.

If you mean the very bottom middle then that is a stubborn mark, which i couldn't even sand out. Ill give it a clean as you suggested.

Firstly, I'm oiling the wooden privacy walls and above them. Once they have a couple of coats i will then do 3 coats on the floor of the deck. Will show pictures once finished.

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/118265#Comment_118265

Sanding was relatively easy once you get the hang of the sander. Now i need to go over the small hard to get places with the detail sander.

Give yours a sand, it makes the deck look new!

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/118265#Comment_118265

Yep, that mark right down the bottom in the middle. If the area I've circled in green is still wet, the discolouration isn't as bad as I first thought. Still might be worth trying to clean, but I think your oil will disguise it sufficiently.

Mitchell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/127524#Comment_127524

First coat of Intergrain Timber oil is on. So far im happy with the colour and coverage. Have a concern with these noticeable spots on the deck, how can i get ride of these, they are like shiny spots (not wet).

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/133608#Comment_133608

At a guess, I'd say they are potentially areas where a bit too much of the oil has gathered, or it didn't spread out as evenly as the surrounding areas. When oil can't penetrate the timber, it tends to sit on top, and if the coat is quite thick, it can dry with a shine. Have you finished coating the deck? If you still have another coat to go, you might like to lightly sand these areas by hand with 180/240-grit sandpaper to remove the sheen from them before overcoating the whole deck.

If you've already finished coating the deck, then you might like to take a close up image of one of these areas, and I can investigate further.

Mitchell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/137369#Comment_137369

Only a first coat at the moment. I was thinking to use my orbital hand sander and sand back these parts, or do you think just hand sand with paper block?

i have used about 6 litre for the 60m2, which is right according to tin. Also, i have brushed on and off and made sure it wasnt on thick. Don't know what I've done wrong. It looks better close up but stands out from distance

i will take a picture now and attach

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/139955#Comment_139955

So, to me, it appears like these areas might have been hard to sand perfectly flat as the timber was warped or somewhat cupped. Cupping is where the central portion of the board is lower than the outside edge, and a sander can't contact it unless the deck is sanding drastically, creating issues because the screws need to be driven further in. If you take a look at the image below I've outlined the area I believe to be sunken in red, and the green shows the higher sides. You might be able to determine better if that is the case. Due to the depression and the potential that the area didn't get sanded or there is a residual amount of your previous coating left on it, this might be causing the oil to be thicker in that area. The depression would have also made it difficult to spread the oil evenly. Take a look at the other shiny areas and see if they are all sunken.

Your last image is potentially something else. I presume it's the orangey colouring you're picturing there. Once again, that looks like it might be areas that the previous coating wasn't removed from. See how it's only in certain patches. If you imagine the areas around them were higher, then the flat sander passes over and misses the lower portions.

I'm just going back over your images. You've predominantly circled areas around boards butting up to each other. The other day, when you posted the teaser image after you'd just washed the deck, those same areas held the most moisture in them, and the deck appeared wet there. How long did you leave the deck to dry after washing it down and your first coat? I'm just hypothesizing here, but a shiny finish can be caused by excess water in the timber. If there is water still left in the timber, it prevents the oil from penetrating. If the oil can't penetrate and get sucked in, then it sits on the top as a coating, and I have heard of a shiny effective being caused.

I'm in two minds about sanding back these areas. How badly do you not like this effect? Sanding and leaving the areas open to dry as a precaution would most likely resolve the situation. However, you might then be able to detect the sanded areas once you're done. The rest of the deck has one coat, and the sanded areas will have none. So if you were to do another coat, you'd likely be able to tell the difference between the areas with two coats and those with only one.

Mitchell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/141760#Comment_141760

Morning Mitchell,

Its a pretty old deck, which was in bad condition when we first bought the house, so i expect bowed and cupping would be present and can see in certain areas.

When i started the deck renovation. I went over the whole deck with a belt sander and then the drum sander after. I used a detail and orbital sander after to fix parts i had missed due to cupping or hard-to-get areas. Yes, the orange stain on the deck is quite noticeable.

To be honest, the left side of the deck looks great, but the highlighted parts stand out, which i will get irritated about over time. So, I'm thinking to sand back the shiny areas and let them dry out for let's say a week. Can i touch up the newly sanded patches with the timber oil and once dried then apply the second coat to the whole deck, do you think that will be noticeable with different stages of coats?

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/143119#Comment_143119

It's difficult to give you an answer, @bowmatty. If this were a moisture issue, the manufacturer of the product would suggest that sanding the whole deck again to remove the product would be the only way to guarantee a consistent finish; let's be honest, though, no one wants to have to do that. When you touch up the sanded areas, I'd recommend you apply the coat to the central part and then spread it out into the surrounding area, trying to feather the edges. You don't want hard transition lines between new and old coats. The second coat to the whole deck should help blend the transition.

Mitchell

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/144074#Comment_144074

I'll give that ago, will update you with a picture on once problem areas have been sanded back and reapplied.

Thanks for your advice!

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/144797#Comment_144797

Just thought I'd add my 2c.

You've done great work. I'd leave the deck alone now and move on. It looks terrific and a huge improvement. The reality is that soon it will get scratched and dirty again from everyday use, and other people won't notice the very minor imperfections.

Well done,

Jason

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/145351#Comment_145351

You are right Jason.

So, you recommend me to apply the last two coats to finish?

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